Event organizers often have this major roadblock in the beginning stages of event planning – where to get the money to fund the event. There are many solutions to this problem and here we address those we find most beneficial to promoters in the business.

Investors: A person or company may invest in your event. In other words, they front a large sum of money to help fund the event in exchange for a percentage of the event’s return. A term used in the industry for an affluent individual who invests in your event is an “angel investor.” Angel investors are better for events than venture capitalists in that they do not have a minimum investment requirement and the investment process is more informal. You may not get a venture capitalist to front money for a single event, but you may get an angel investor to.

Partners: A partner in this case is someone who works together with you to help cover some of the event costs. The partner could be someone you know personally, a business partner or even a vendor who already has some control in the event itself. One possible partner might be the event venue – in exchange for providing a venue for the event at no upfront cost, they get a vested interest in the event. By doing this, you not only do not have to come up with money to book the venue, but the venue will also typically promote your event because it will help them make more money.

In Purplepass’ website there is a section of your account that allows you to add partner access to part or all of the event’s ticketing. If you have a partner(s) you work with for an event, use this attribute to make it easier for the partner to contribute. Partner access can be turned on via Settings > Partner Access.

Sponsors: If it is a charity, non-profit or fundraiser for a good cause, you can usually find sponsors who want to align themselves with your cause. If it’s a very large event, you will likely be able to find sponsors who may want to get some exposure and branding. If so, you can offer incentives such as presenting the event by them, putting their banners/flyers/name everywhere, etc. If you want your event to be sponsored, it’s a good idea to plan the event with the idea of having a sponsor in mind. That way, when you propose the event to potential sponsors, the benefits to being a sponsor are obvious.

Vendors: If appropriate, you can bring in extra cash as well as offer an additional perk to your event – bring in vendors. They will usually pay you for the right to sell their goods/services at your event. Vendors can be a great asset when they are providing a good or service that your guests would want. Food vendors are always a win-win.

Process your own credit cards: By using your own credit card processor (Purplepass can help with this) or even by using PayPal, money from online ticket sales will go directly to you as tickets are sold. This will help provide cash flow to fund the event.

In Purplepass, you can change the merchant account to be your own via Settings > Merchant Account. You will need to add a valid credit/debit card to be on file to account for the service fees you collect on behalf of Purplepass (if you use our service).